2023-08-28 21:42:15
The Musée de la photographie Desjardins, in Drummondville, houses the most important collection of cameras in Quebec and one of the great collections in Canada. He is currently fighting for his survival, having found himself in front of completely empty coffers last December. The Museum believes it has been the victim of fraud. He reportedly lost $585,000. A dozen volunteers are currently working wholeheartedly to keep it alive and open.
“We had confirmation, with the external verification that we had done, that the Museum would have been the victim of fraud”, advanced to Le Devoir the chairman of the board of directors, Michel Doyon. “It is money that should have been used to pay suppliers, accounts, credit cards, which seems to have been misappropriated, over a period of two years. »
“Seeing the Museum abused in this way, I can’t tell you how much it hurts my heart,” said Mr. Doyon. “Then tell you, there, it reminds us how much it hurt us when we realized it. The Sûreté du Québec confirms that the Museum has filed a complaint and that an investigation is underway.
Seeing the Museum abused in this way, I can’t tell you how much it hurts my heart.
The museum, already weakened by the pandemic, finds itself “currently in debt of just over $300,000”, which it attributes to the alleged fraud. For this small establishment accustomed to operating on a budget of around $230,000 a year, the impact is enormous. It is funded by its community, through the MRC of Drummondville, the City of Drummondville and Desjardins Drummondville.
The consequences are not only financial. During the past year, two members of management have left the Museum. “All the jobs that previously appeared on the site as a work team are no longer there: secretary, archivist, exhibition manager, guides”, as wrote L’Express in one of his articles on the Museum.
It is currently photo club enthusiasts, explains Mr. Doyon, all volunteers like him, who take it in turns to keep the Museum and its activities open.
The museology of survival
“The City and the MRC are concerned about our particular situation. We really feel their support,” adds Mr. Doyon. “Things are progressing well; by mid-September, we think we can find solutions. But there, yes: the Museum is in “survival mode”. »
The chairman of the board hopes to be able to advertise the management position in the fall, to “have a general manager who can take the reins at the very beginning of 2024. That gives us time to make a recovery plan, to relaunch and consolidate the activities of the Museum. We try to do everything at the same time”.
Some observers of the community, with whom Le Devoir spoke, however, believe that it should rather be the role of the next director of the museum to think about its future.
Funding for the Musée de la photographie has always been difficult since its founding in 2003, when it was headed by Jean Lauzon. “It takes approval”, issued by Quebec according to good museum practices, and which allows in the process of having provincial funding, estimates the previous director general, Jonathan-Hugues Potvin, who left the Museum a few years ago. month.
“We did all the steps twice to obtain approval. It’s a lot of work. And we were refused it twice, for vague reasons, which we find difficult to understand. The government requires for this approval compliance with “internationally recognized standards in terms of museological practices, protection and enhancement of heritage”.
According to Mr. Potvin, it’s a vicious circle: “If we have the accreditation and the funding that comes with it, that gives the museum the means to improve and meet the expectations of the government. »
“Achieving this on your own, with the means the Museum has, is really asking a lot. This museum is a unique cultural gem, adds the former director. People who come here come back. He must survive. »
A history of devices
When it opened in 2006, the Musée de la photographie, which has three exhibition rooms, a darkroom, a studio, a library and a multifunctional room, was the only one devoted exclusively to this art in Quebec.
The McCord Stewart Museum, in Montreal, and the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec have developed important photo poles, “but both work mainly on photography”, explains historian and photographer Pierre Lahoud, while in Drummondville , the focus is on the history of photography and its technologies, a lot on cameras.
Drummondville’s major collection, acquired in 2017, is that of the architects Bruce and Bissera Anderson. “Mr. Anderson was a perfectionist. Before getting a device, he made sure that it was in perfect condition. This collection was valued at some $1.2 million, according to Michel Doyon.
By joining the legacy of photographer Germain Beauchamp (1931-2019), the museum’s camera collection, made up of some 20,000 cameras in all, is now of international caliber, according to photo specialists Robert Hébert and Pierre Lahoud.
For its part, the Quebec Museums Society recalls “that a museum in danger of closing is the dream of a community that risks being extinguished; it is the will of a City to keep a link with history. It would be a loss for museum diversity in Quebec”, as the director general, Stéphane Chagnon, said.
And it is indeed the community, a handful of volunteers, who hold the heart of the Museum still beating from their efforts. An exceptional situation? “When you have passionate people, Madame, there is nothing you cannot do,” replies Michel Doyon. “We sincerely believe that the Museum must remain alive, and for several years. So we do what needs to be done. »
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